The Yoga of Arjuna's Despair

Arjuna asks the devastating question: 'Kā prītiḥ syāj janārdana'—what joy would there be, O Krishna? 'Nihatya dhārtarāṣṭrān'—from killing Dhritarashtra's sons. Even if we win, what will we feel? 'Pāpam evāśrayed asmān'—sin would overtake us. Not external punishment but internal burden—the weight of who you've become. 'Hatvaitān ātatāyinaḥ'—even though they're aggressors. The verse acknowledges full justification: they wronged us, we're right. But then the question that changes everything: where's the joy? You can be legally right and emotionally destroyed. Victory means nothing if you can't live with who you became to achieve it. The teaching separates justification from outcome: imagine you've won your justified battle. Now what? If the answer is burden not joy, maybe being right isn't enough reason to proceed.